US Olympic gymnastics trials recap: Fred Richard wins; who made team?
Editor’s note: Follow the latest U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials results and Simone Biles updates.
MINNEAPOLIS - The U.S. men's gymnastics team is now set.
Three-time national champion Brody Malone has made his second Olympic team, joining trials winner Fred Richard. Asher Hong, Paul Juda and Stephen Nedoroscik round out the five-man team that will look to end a 16-year medal drought at the Olympics.
Richard locked up his spot by winning the trials and finishing in the top three on three events: floor exercise, parallel bars and high bar. Malone was a given, too, in the top five on all events but floor exercise. No surprise, given he's less than 18 months removed from a gruesome knee injury that required three surgeries.
But the rest of the team came down to math. Winning a team medal is the priority, and the scoring format in the finals means rank order does not necessarily make for the best squads. Teams compete three gymnasts on each event in finals, and have to count each score. That means you need a team that can give you three big scores on all the events and do it consistently.
The selection committee used a complex mathematical formula, and these five emerged as the team with the highest scoring potential.
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'Gut-wrenching' for Wiskus, others who fell short
Shane Wiskus said he felt like he deserved to be on the Paris team after a third-place finish at the Olympic trials. But the math didn't work out in his favor.
Unlike the women's gymnastics team, which will be picked by a committee, the men's team was locked in mathematically based on the average scores between nationals and trials. And that formula left Wiskus, a Minnesota grad competing not far from where he grew up, as an alternate for the Games.
"I had the best two days of competition of my life," he said. "So it's all I can do."
Brett McClure, who is the high performance director for the U.S. men's gymnastics program, said the math made for a straightforward decision − but not an easy one.
"You're not human if you don't have those types of emotions for these incredible athletes," McClure said. "Every athlete out there just laid it all on the line, has been training their entire lives for this. And it is absolutely gut-wrenching. It's horrible for the ones who don't quite make it. It's great for the ones that do. It's life-changing for them. So the roller-coaster of emotions is absolutely real, and it never gets easier to manage, in my position."
Fred Richard says Olympics are 'a new mountain'
The first question to Fred Richard in the mixed zone was about how he felt, now that he is finally an Olympian.
"A little hungry," Richard quipped before unleashing a broad smile.
In all seriousness, the 20-year-old said, the feeling is one of both tremendous excitement and the realization that his life is going to change. He likened the Olympic Games to "a new mountain in my life" that he's ready to climb, while also trying to keep this moment in perspective.
"Honestly, I think tonight was all about gratitude and gratefulness − just remembering my younger self and how proud he would be for me to be in this position today," he said. "So I felt like today was just a celebration, party, just all about gratitude."
Fred Richard locks up Olympic spot
MINNEAPOLIS - Fred Richard has made the Olympic team. Now the wait to see who joins him.
Richard edged Brody Malone to win the Olympic trials Saturday, finishing 0.2 points ahead of the three-time U.S. champion. Richard finished with 170.5 points.
That alone wasn't enough to get Richard to Paris, however. According to the selection procedures, the trials winner only locked a spot if he finished in the top three of three or more events. Which Richard did, finishing first on high bar, second on parallel bars and third on floor exercise.
The men's selection committee uses a convoluted algorithm to determine the rest of the five-man team, using a combination of scores from trials and the U.S. championships. So while Malone, Shane Wiskus, Paul Juda and Asher Hong rounded out the top five, none of them is guaranteed a spot on the Paris team.
The selection committee is meeting now and expects to name the team within a half-hour.
Khoi Young rebounds on pommel horse
MINNEAPOLIS - After falling off pommel horse not once but twice Thursday night, Khoi Young desperately needed a clean routine on this apparatus Saturday. And he got it, though it might not be enough to put him back on the Olympic team.
Young minimized mistakes and recorded a score of 14.250 on pommel horse, matching Paul Juda for the best non-specialist score of the day on the apparatus. It moved him into a tie for eighth with one rotation to go.
Frederick Richard and Brody Malone are now sitting in first and second, respectively, entering the final rotation -- which is right where they were expected to be. The three men behind them -- Shane Wiskus, Juda and Asher Hong -- are all very much in the mix for an Olympic spot with the the trials almost at an end.
Fred Richard leads after three events
MINNEAPOLIS - Fred Richard can start packing for Paris.
The winner of the trials automatically locks his spot on the Olympic team if he's also in the top three on three or more events. Well, with two rotations left, Richard is both first overall and top three on three events. He's first on high bar and third on floor exercise, and competition is finished on both of those events. He also has the top score on parallel bars and isn't likely to drop out of the top three even with five gymnasts still to go.
Asher Hong remains second behind Richard, but is more than a point back and isn't likely to catch the world all-around bronze medalist. Brody Malone is third.
Stephen Nedoroscik records 14.850 on pommel horse
MINNEAPOLIS - On a five-member team, could the U.S. actually bring an athlete who just does one event? That's the question after Stephen Nedoroscik recorded a score of 14.850 in his only event of the day, pommel horse.
The difficulty score in Nedoroscik's routine Saturday was well below what he is capable of, but it was a notch ahead of what the other likely members of Team USA can do, with the exception of Khoi Young. His presence on the team would address a weakness, but also potentially hamstring the U.S. if someone else were to get hurt or withdraw. It's a big decision, and it might ultimately be made automatically by the selection committee's procedures, which allow for a team combination to be locked in it if is shown to be mathematically superior to other options.
Meanwhile, Frederick Richard remains atop the all-around leaderboard through three rotations, followed by Asher Hong and Brody Malone.
Fred Richard has monster high bar set
MINNEAPOLIS - Fred Richard isn't only looking to win the Olympic trials.
He's trying to make a statement.
Richard, the all-around bronze medalist at last year's world championships, extended his lead with a monster high bar set. The crowd oohed and aahed at his big release moves, and he roared when he landed his dismount. His score of 14.45 is the highest yet on the event, and is reassuring for the U.S. men, for whom high bar is one of the weaker events.
Richard has 114.850 points after two events, a full point ahead of Asher Hong. Shane Wiskus continues to delight the home town crowd and is keeping himself in the mix for a spot on the five-man team.
National champion Brody Malone is in fifth place, but he just did one of his weaker events, floor exercise. He should move up over the last four events.
Khoi Young shines on vault at US trials
MINNEAPOLIS -- It's going to be a big afternoon for Khoi Young, and he couldn't have asked for a much better start.
On the very first vault of the day, the reigning world silver medalist on this event bested his scores from both the first day of trials and both days of nationals, recording a 15.100 with a near-perfect execution score (9.50 out of 10). It didn't help him much in the two-day all-around standings, where he is 11th, but it can only help his chances of climbing back into the Olympic picture.
Young's teammate at Stanford, Asher Hong, also dropped a massive score on vault (15.250) to start off the day, while Frederick Richard expanded his lead with a solid performance on parallel bars. Reigning national champion Brody Malone slipped to third after an uncharacteristic fall on one of his best events, high bar.
When does Simone Biles compete at the U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials?
Simone Biles competed on Friday night, the first night of competition for the senior women. On Sunday night, Biles will start on vault, with her first attempt around 8:20 p.m. ET. She will then go to uneven bars and balance beam before concluding on floor.
U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials schedule 2024
The senior men compete again Saturday night after starting on Thursday. The women were in action Friday and compete again Sunday.
Saturday, 3:15 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET: Men's competition, Day 2
Sunday, 8:10 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET: Women's competition, Day 2
How to watch U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials
The decisive Saturday and Sunday sessions will be on NBC. The network will also show every minute of the trials on its streaming service, Peacock, where it will offer both a general stream and apparatus-specific streams for viewers who are hoping to monitor a specific athlete.
U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials TV schedule
Saturday, 3:15 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET: Men's competition, Day 2 (NBC, Peacock)
Sunday, 8:10 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET: Women's competition, Day 2 (NBC, Peacock)
Simone Biles Gold Over America Tour gets Brody Malone
MINNEAPOLIS — Brody Malone is joining Simone Biles' tour.
Malone's name has been added to the lineup of gymnasts for the Gold Over America Tour, joining Frederick Richard and Casimir Schmidt of the Netherlands. There were no male gymnasts on the tour after the Tokyo Olympics, with Biles telling The Associated Press she wanted the focus to be on female empowerment.
"This time around we're like 'OK, that worked but let's do it a little bit differently, let's invite the men,'" she said.
The 30-city tour begins Sept. 17 and runs through Nov. 3.
Who will make U.S. men’s gymnastics Olympic team?
If Brody Malone has a similar showing at trials that he had at the U.S. championships in early June, he’s on his way to Paris. Ditto for Fred Richard, who was second at nationals, first on floor exercise and second on high bar. Khoi Young was poised to make the team with a strong performance at trials, but he had a disastours Day 1 outing.
The contenders are Tokyo Olympians Yul Moldauer and Shane Wiskus; Paul Juda, a member of last year’s world team; and Donnell Whittenburg, a two-time medalist at the world championships and 2016 alternate. Also keep your eye on Cameron Bock, Colt Walker and Asher Hong.
If the selection committee decides it is solid enough elsewhere but needs a big score on pommel horse, it could go with Stephen Nedoroscik, the 2021 world champion on the event; or Patrick Hoopes.
Where are the 2024 U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials?
The U.S. gymnastics trials are at the Target Center in Minneapolis.
U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials announcers
Mike Tirico will host NBC's coverage, and Terry Gannon (play-by-play) will be joined by analysts Tim Daggett, Samantha Peszek and John Roethlisberger on the call.
Khoi Young and his struggles at U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials
Khoi Young was thought to be a lock for this Olympic team, the U.S. men's best non-specialist on pommel horse and a rare American medalist on the event at the world championships.
But he's now come off horse twice over three nights of competition at the U.S. championships and Olympic trials. His 11.65 on Thursday night, after coming off twice during his routine, was the worst score of the meet on the event.
Young, the reigning NCAA champion, also had issues on high bar and still rings, and is down in 12th place entering tonight. The one event in which he did well was vault, where he is the reigning world silver medalist. His 14.95 was the highest score on the event Thursday night.
Frederick Richard at U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials
Frederick Richard let out a big smile as he left the floor Thursday night, pumping his fists. Richard, the reigning world bronze medalist, had plenty to celebrate. His marvelous floor routine had just put him atop the all-around leaderboard after the first night of the U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials with a score of 85.600, narrowly ahead of three-time national champ Brody Malone.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US Olympic gymnastics trials results: Fred Richard wins
